You are Helping to Reduce Global Warming!
I truly believe that global warming is one of the most critical issues of our time. Generally, I don’t use this blog for such commentary, but this morning, as I was driving back home on the last leg of my trip to France, I heard an interview with the president of the Ad Council on the radio. This is the organization that brings important issues to the public eye with simple slogans like “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Their latest campaign is on global warming.
Curious, I went to that subsection of their web site, Fight Global Warming. While their suggestions to reduce energy consumption in the home and on the road won’t hurt, I am continually perplexed as to why mainstream environmental organizations ignore the one thing people can do to help reduce global warming: Cut down on, or give up, meat and other animal products.
Since you are here at my blog, I am assuming that you already have given up or cut down on meat, and in effect, you are doing more for the earth than most. Good for you, and pass along the message!
I quote from EarthSave: “By far the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture.
Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 … arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products. Simply by going vegetarian (or, strictly speaking, vegan), we can eliminate one of the major sources of emissions of methane, the greenhouse gas responsible for almost half of the global warming impacting the planet today.”
Read the entire report at Earthsave.
nm said,
April 3, 2006 @ 12:43 pm
Thanks for making this important point. In addition, a new study by scientists at the University of Chicago calculated that going vegan reduces global warming by a lot more than switching your car to a Prius (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg18825304.800.html). It is unfortunate that enviro groups often ignore this.
Nava said,
April 3, 2006 @ 4:25 pm
And thank you for the additional info and the link. I will definitely read it and hope I can spread the word.
Here is a live link: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg18825304.800.html
Judy Kingsbury said,
April 3, 2006 @ 9:30 pm
Hi Nava,
I just got your newsletter, and it was wonderful, as always. I was especially pleased to read your piece about global warming and vegetarianism, as I’m also perpetually puzzled by environmentalists who simply ignore this aspect. I wrote an article about vegetarian diet and sustainable living last fall, http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/sustainable-vegetarian.php, and right after that Veggie Revolution (http://www.fulcrum-books.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=4232) by Sally Kneidel was published. But the subject of methane gas didn’t arise in either case. I just zipped through the Earth Save article you mentioned - I loved the suggestion at the end of an environmental tax on meat!
Sally Kneidel said,
May 6, 2006 @ 9:22 pm
Hi
Just came across this mention of my book Veggie Revolution. Glad to see the mention and thanks for reading it. However, we did talk about methane gas in Veggie Revolution, on page 35. Cattle produce a lot of methane and it’s a potent greenhouse gas. Methane traps 25 times more heat than an equal amount of carbon dioxide. I agree, it’s a subject that is not often addressed, but should be.
Thanks!
Sally Kneidel
VeggieTalk » An Inconvient Truth said,
June 19, 2006 @ 3:20 pm
[…] Once again, though, I was disappointed that there was no mention about how much animal agriculture contributes to greenhouse gases (which is quite significant), something I addressed in an earlier post, referencing an article from Earthsave. See the movie! Tell your friends! […]
Suz said,
August 2, 2006 @ 6:11 pm
My friend and I have been having a disagreement about this topic. He thinks that even if we give up eating meat/fish/poultry and dairy and go vegan, the animals will still be producing methane gas by f__ting. That’s not counting all the people who f__t a lot when they eat beans and veggies.
I’m not so sure. I think it’s not a bad thing to think about eating more vegan/vegetarian meals. I will try to do this more often. Although I don’t think I could go totally vegan.
On another side, this would lessen the obesity in this country. But can you see all of Texas and other big meat-eating states go all vegan?
Nava said,
August 3, 2006 @ 7:34 am
Your friend does have a point, but the real point here is that so many millions of animals are “grown” specifically for meat, milk, wool, and eggs. The less the demand, the less animals will be needed for these purposes. And this does not even begin to address the problem of all the untreated waste all these animals produce on a daily basis, polluting, air, rivers, and groundwaters.
Of course, you also have a point that entire populations are not likely to go vegan. But change is incremental, and even small changes, added up over time, can make a big difference! Thanks for your interesting comment. Maybe you can steer your friend to the article mentioned in the post, which clarifies the animal/methane connection.